THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The principal sub court here on Monday ordered CPM veteran VS Achuthanandan to pay Rs 10.10 lakh as compensation in a solar scam-related defamation case filed by senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy.
The case was filed in 2014 after Achuthanandan alleged in a TV interview that Chandy, who was the chief minister then, had floated a company to fleece money in the name of solar power production. Judge Shibu Daniel also directed Achuthanandan, who was the then the leader of Opposition, to pay a 6% interest for the amount with retrospective effect.
Chandy himself had testified before the court in 2019 that the allegation against him was baseless and had created an image before the public that he was corrupt. Reacting to the latest development, a jubilant Chandy said he stood vindicated. While maintaining that truth had prevailed, he recalled the various cases the CPM had filed against him over the last few years.
“Truth has prevailed. Look at the series of cases which have ennded in favour of me. Since I had not committed anything wrong, I went ahead as per my conscience,” he said. Chandy was represented by former Thiruvananthapuram district public prosecutor A Santhosh Kumar.
Achuthanandan to file appeal in a higher court
Three people had testified before the court in total in connection with the case, but Achuthanandan did not turn up due to bad health. The then special home secretary, who was listed as one of the witnesses by the nonagenarian, had produced six documents to buttress Achuthanandan’s claims, but none of them had any adverse remarks implicating Chandy. Despite this, the veteran CPM leader had stood by his allegation. Sources close to Achuthanandan, meanwhile, said he would challenge the order in a higher court.